Women and men play key roles with respect to environmental protection and social and economic development in mountain areas. Women are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity and the main actors in terms of agriculture, animal husbandry and other small scale economic activities. In mountain communities, women are keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture and experts in traditional medicine.
However, women mountain dwellers are often invisible and their voices go unheard. They rarely participate in decisions affecting the management and use of local resources; they often lack basic rights, have little access to ownership and land tenure rights, education, health services and training. Since women and girls have less access to household resources, they are at a greater risk of hunger and malnutrition.
As men migrate to lowlands areas or abroad in search of better income, women are left to manage the farm and household and participate in small trade and income-earning activities. Yet lack of access to credit hampers efforts to improve or expand their farm activities and earn cash incomes.Inaccessibility shapes the lives of mountain communities. Further, the challenges men and women face in mountain regions is intensified by altitude, steep terrain and isolation.
![]() UN report on sustainable mountain developmentnewsThe United Nation Secretary-General (UNSG) has issued a report on sustainable mountain development (SMD) covering the last three years. Prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat in collaboration with governments, UN agencies and other organizations, the report describes the... Read more » |
![]() Call for mountain photographs for IMDnewsSend us your mountain photos. We are seeking pictures that show local mountain culture. You could submit portraits of mountain peoples or spontaneous shots of individuals engaging in traditional activities, festivals or everyday mountain life. The photographs will be used to promote International Mountain Day (IMD), which is 11 December. The... Read more » |
![]() Submissions for UN report on mountainsnewsThe Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) is currently compiling summaries of the most important results of mountain development activities since July 2013 for the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Report on Sustainable Mountain Development. Now requested every three years, the MPS and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations,... Read more » |
![]() International Women’s Day Celebration at Utah Valley UniversityeventAfter hosting the Fourth International Women of the Mountain Conference (October 2015) and celebrating International Mountain Day (December 2015), the next big event on the Utah Valley University (UVU) agenda is a celebration of International Women’s Day. Read more » |
![]() World Environment Day celebration in HimalayasnewsRCE Srinagar in collaboration with CEE Himalaya & JSW Foundation supported by UNICEF celebrated World Environment Day (WED) 2015 across Indian Himalayan Region and the foothills of Himalaya in Uttar Pradesh bordering to Nepal. Various awareness and action programmes were undertaken reaching out to a... Read more » |
![]() A Year-long Ascent: Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report 2014publicationThe Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) reflects its key achievements in promoting sustainable mountain development (SMD) in its 2014 annual report. Using mountain climbing as an analogy to facing SMD challenges, the annual report outlines its work in advocacy, communication and knowledge management, promoting International Mountain Day, brokering joint action and... Download » |
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